WWE Premiere Week features unprecedented eight hours of primetime coverage
STAMFORD, Conn. - WWE Premiere Week ushers in an unprecedented era of coverage with special episodes of
Monday Night Raw,
NXT,
Total Divas and the FOX debut of
Friday Night SmackDownbringing fans eight hours of primetime programming.
As part of WWE Premiere Week, new voices will be brought to the Raw, NXT and SmackDownbroadcasts
. Raw’s new announce team will include play-by-play from
Vic Joseph with Dio Maddin and WWE Hall of Famer
Jerry “The King” Lawler serving as analysts; NXT play-by-play will be called by
Mauro Ranallo with
Beth Phoenix and
Nigel McGuiness as analysts; and SmackDownwill feature
Michael Cole handling play-by-play,
Corey Graves serving as analyst and
Renee Young as a Special Contributor.
Monday, September 30
The season premiere of Monday Night Raw airs at 8/7 C on USA Network as WWE Universal Champion
Seth Rollins defends his title against
Rey Mysterio;
The Miz hosts WWE Hall of Famers
Hulk Hogan and
Ric Flair on a special edition of Miz TV;
Brock Lesnarmakes a special appearance;
AJ Stylesdefends his United States Title vs.
Cedric Alexander; and
Alexa Bliss takes on
Sasha Banks.
Wednesday, October 2
NXT will make its two-hour live premiere this Wednesday, October 2, on USA Network at 8/7 C, as The Undisputed ERA defend their golden prophecy and the NXT Tag Team Championships in a match against the Street Profits. Also, NXT Champion
Adam Cole defends his title against
Matt Riddle; NXT Women’s Champion
Shayna Baszler takes on
Candice LeRae;
Johnny Gargano competes against
Shane Thorne; and fans can witness "The Velveteen Dream Experience."
Immediately following
NXT, season nine of
Total Divas will premiere on E! at 10/9 C. The hit series is back with a season more personal and action-packed than ever. WWE Superstar
Ronda Rousey joins
Natalya,
Naomi and
Nia Jax for the new season, which also includes returning cast member
Carmella and newcomer
Sonya Deville.
Nikki Bella and
Brie Bella will make guest appearances in the series as well.
Friday, October 4
SmackDown’s 20th anniversary will kick off the new era of Friday Night SmackDown’s highly-anticipated move to FOX broadcast network on Friday, October 4 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, when WWE Champion
Kofi Kingston puts his title on the line against
Brock Lesnar. The Four Horsewomen also square off as WWE Raw Women’s Champion
Becky Lynch and
Charlotte Flair team up against WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion
Bayley and Sasha Banks in tag team competition. Later
Kevin Owens and
Shane McMahon look to finally settle their ongoing dispute in a high-stakes Ladder Match with the loser forced to leave WWE.
Prior to the premiere, the Friday Night SmackDown Kickoff Show “blue carpet” special will air at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on FOX from the Staples Center, featuring celebrity, Superstar and Legend arrivals, as well as backstage access.